User Reviews

I've been a cyclist for more than three decades and have ridden with and without tire liners. These are without a doubt the worst liners I've ever had the misfortune of trying.

I installed them as directed and made sure they were centered in my tires. On my first ride out I suffered a flat caused by the liner slicing into the tube. I replaced the tube and on my third ride with the new tube the exact same thing happened. Both tubes were unrepairable afterwards due to the length of the cuts. Twice, I submitted complaints on the Slime website, detailing my experiences and giving my contact information. I received no reply either time, although I was using their on-line form for this type of correspondence which states on it that they will contact you shortly.

As I said, I've ridden with tire liners before and never had this problem. Mr. Tuffy brand is one that I've had good experiences with and I know there are others. I recommend checking out reviews on-line before buying. On one such site the Slime protectors were rated two stars while all others were rated four stars, apparently with good reason.

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
Guy from Granada

Date Reviewed: May 10, 2013

Strengths: None

Weaknesses: The sharp edges causes a puncture due to friction. It doesn't prevent flat tires, it's the cause!

Bottom Line:

After 4 hours of use, it caused a puncture in the tube, the sharp end of the "protecting" band made a small hole due to friction.

There is no way on earth that this product will protect your tube by any means. But I must admit that as a joke is a very effective and rather expensive one.

Do not buy this product.

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
Janet

Date Reviewed: September 2, 2012

Strengths: None

Weaknesses: Causes punctures after a surprisingly short time

Bottom Line:

Don't even consider putting them in- they cause punctures

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
Mark A
a Cross Country Rider

Date Reviewed: July 23, 2012

Strengths: Might prevent some thorns from puncturing the tube. See review below

Weaknesses: Does not stop all puncture damage.

Bottom Line:

I have been using Slime Tube Protectors for at least eight years. I use them in combination with Slim Lite tubes and Maxxis Cross Mark Tires. These tires have a thin carcass and low profile tread. I am not convinced that Tube Protectors protect against puncture flats such as long thorns or small pointed rocks. I have had both of these go right through the Tube Protector on several occasions. I have never had a sliced tire so don’t know how well they protect against that type of damage. I also don’t run into many goat’s heads. I use this setup for Adventure Racing, so riding surfaces vary. They do not stop all puncture damage. And when they don’t, the Slim Tubes keep me rolling when the liners let me down. Do they stop some punctures? Maybe. I un-mount my tires/tubes two to three times a year just to check for and remove thorns. I have never found a thorn that penetrated the tire that didn’t also penetrate the tube protector. So if they are working it must be on thorns that don’t penetrate the tube protector and then later fell out. So why am I still using them? When I don’t use the protectors I could have 2-3 thorns in the tire/tube when I check them. With the protectors I might have one thorn. I have never had a tube cut by the edge of the tube protector as others have reported.

Strengths: They do stop most things that can go thru the tire, the material is hard to cut but it is good to smooth off the ends so they don't cut into the tube, I have even used a file to smooth the ends, seems like work but can be worth it if you get a lot of Goat's heads or other sharp points thru your tires.

Weaknesses: Takes a little work to make them work right.

Bottom Line:

They do work for many people, maybe have a bike shop put them in for you if it seems too much work.

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
paulb27
a Cross Country Rider
from Gloucestershire ,England

Date Reviewed: January 14, 2012

Strengths: none

Weaknesses: wished i had seen the reviews before i brought them ,and saved the money,i have the same problems as the others.the protectors cut through the sides of the inner tubes with the sharp edges

Kept getting flats until I realized that the long edges of the protector have sharp edges which put grooves all along the length of your tube....and these cuts/grooves eventually split open and go flat!!!

SERIOUSLY, protects you from thorns, but then cuts your tube itself....."Here to keep you from getting flats, but also gives you flats!"

Weaknesses: It CAUSED my flat, rather than prevent it. How's that for a weakness? I think that's weakness squared.

Bottom Line:

This tube protector is HARMFUL. After being stranded (18 miles after TWO FLAT TIRES) a-freakin'-gain, I took the tire off and there was a hole in the tube . no, there was no hole in the tire - and I didn't hit a pothole curb or anything else. On the advice of a bike repairwoman, I looked carefully at the surface of the tube. Sure enough, the light imprint of where the tube strip overlaps itself (not supposed to cut the strip down to length), there was a pinhole - so I'm 100% sure that's what caused it. I had the inflation properly set, etc. etc. NO abuse, no offroading, just flat level terrain.

Strengths: In 4 years never has a flat. Tires wear down and get square tread before i change them. I got about 8000 miles out of a pair of Michelin Pro 2's. I rotate the tires every 1500 miles. I have them on all my bikes.

Weaknesses: To prevent getting a flat tire as mention on previous reviews, just get a pair if scissors aend round off each end before instalation. I had that problem with another set of tire liners. I forget the name but they were orange and hand a black stripe doen the middle.

Bottom Line:

The best product i have ever used. Always check tires by rubbing your bare hand over your tires. I usually am picking out small particles of glass. It will not cut through the liner but may eventually ruin your tire.

Strengths: Must work, since I haven't had any flats since I installed it. Also, light weight. I can't tell the difference with it installed.

Weaknesses: A little bit of a hassle to install, but after you've done two sets of tires, it's gets easier.

Bottom Line:

We have a tree around here called Sweet Gum that produces little, spiked seed balls that resemble a medieval weapon called a mace. These little balls are as effective at flattening your tires as Goat's Head, especially in this world of ultra-light everything, including mountain bike tires. The leak is super slow, so you get deep in the woods and then get to change a flat there, or walk your bike home. We were spending $30/week on tubes and that pressurized canned goo stuff that gets you home, but eventually it fails too.

I installed slime tube guards in all 3 of our bikes, with standard Kenda 26x2.125 tubes, and we haven't had a flat since. I was getting a flat every time I went out on trail, and 50% of the time I rode on a paved path.